Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar on Friday said that Indians should be proud of their nation, give up negativity and recognise they have made achievements which are stupendous and phenomenal.

Addressing the 25th Convocation of the New Delhi Institute of Management (NDIM), he said the Chandrayaan-3’s successful soft-landing on the Moon’s South Pole was the first-ever by any country. “We are in the big four, and in a matter of time we will be number one,” he said.

The most important impact of the event was the emergence of India in soft power diplomacy, he said. The Vice President said all television channels of the world, whether in the Middle East, in Europe or the USA were focusing on the soft landing. “Everyone was congratulating the Indian Prime Minister. It was a moment of joy, a moment of glory for us,” he said.

“There is hardly a global reputable corporation that does not have a presence of an Indian mind. You will find an Indian genius contributing to the upsurge of that outfit,” Mr Dhankhar said.

Recalling when he was elected to Parliament in 1989 and became a Minister, the situation in the country was such that “to sustain our financial credibility, we had to send in physical form, our gold by a plane outside.” Now, the International Monetary Fund says that India is the bright spot in the world for investment and opportunity.

“We have improved our dignity, a facet of soft power diplomacy, we have improved our dialogue level, we are focusing on shared prosperity and why you want shared prosperity I’ll tell you. More than 1.3 billion people were facing Covid pandemic and still our Bharat was helping 100 countries with Covaxin. That is our culture. We take the world as one family,” he said.

The Vice-President said: “We were taking care of our problems and giving a healing touch by hand holding others. We care for global security and improving our cultural connection.”

Mr Dhankhar said the Government had taken such initiatives that the youth today has an ecosystem where they get an opportunity to fully expand and unleash their talent and energy.

“You can achieve your dreams and secure reality for your aspirations. And that is why India is home to unicorns and start-ups that have stunned the world at large,” he said.

“The big change that has come, youngsters may not be fully aware, senior people here will be fully aware, our power corridors were infested by power brokers. Those power corridors have been sanitized. The institution of power brokers is dead. It can never revive. Transparency and accountability are the hallmarks of governance,” he said.

The Vice President said the change had come about because there is zero accommodation for corruption. “I call upon young boys and girls, think, if someone is being booked for transgression of laws, corruption or crime, do you want that person to take to the streets or do you want him to go to a court of law,” he said.

Mr Dhankhar said the country’s justice system is very robust and performs at the highest level. The entire world is proud of the Indian system they are delivering. The executive headed by the Prime Minister is delivering. “We are having roads, railways, penetration of technology, we have world class structures,” he said.

“But when it comes to the legislature, your representatives, the scene is dismal. As Chairman, Rajya Sabha, I don’t see debate, dialogue, discussion. I see disruption,” he said. The Vice President said “Why should the legislature fail? Take a note of it.”

The Constituent Assembly worked for three years, gave the country its Constitution; not even once there was disruption, he said. Not once there was disturbance and they dealt with very difficult issues, divisive issues, contentious issues, Mr Dhankhar said.

Justice B P Singh, Board Director, NDIM; Prof Anil Sahasrabudhe, Chairman, National Educational Technology Forum, Government of India; Mr V M Bansal, Chairman, NDIM, students, faculty members and eminent dignitaries were present.